When is an iris not an iris? When it's a yellow fleur-de-lis that brings two cultures together. February's Beat Night at the Press Room brought together some of the most intellectual and cynically comical local literature lovers to explore this topic with two young Seacoast poets, Jennifer Belkus and Tanya Gold. They were two among the four featured readers who performed to the modern jazz improvisations of Larry Simon's band at the monthly poetry performance.

Gold and Belkus combined talents to produce a cross-cultural literary reflection of their Francophone/Anglophone experiences, "The Fleur de Lis is Not a Yellow Iris: A Joint Project on Cultural Difference." Gold grew up in Switzerland in the French-speaking Suisse-Romande and has lived here since the age of 18. Belkus, a New Hampshire native, spent two and a half years teaching English in Paris, living in a studio the size of a drum kit. Their personalities complement each other as keenly as their verses.

The duo met at another monthly poetry event, the Poetry Hoot held at Caf?? Espresso in Portsmouth, sponsored by the Portsmouth Poet Laureate Program. Their common feeling of being an outsider in one's own culture drew them together and inspired this cross-cultural m??lange ?í deux. It's not often that two artists will work together, let alone two poets. However, that's exactly the challenge that excites these two women. They've tapped into each other's creative spring. After reading one's work, the other

will take that influence and metamorphose it into her own, feeding off of the same inspiration. The results are a harmonious collection of eloquent phrases, dripping imagery and impeccable timing.

At Beat Night, Belkus, sharp, energetic and daylight bright, wove tales of thrown-out loves, one in the form of a drowned pigeon, and coyly explained the custom of kisses as greetings in Europe. Gold's solid, somber, sly semblances of a Swiss homeland and the awkward moments of a first kiss tied together symbols of a lost adolescence. Gold's "La Bise" (the kiss) was introduced by a flute's soft, provincial chanting and the twinkling of silver cymbals. Verses voluptuously brimming with vivid sexual imagery vibrated from the microphone as Gold delivered this creation, likening the intimate French formal greeting of kisses on each cheek to the soft breeze named for it that winds like a ribbon through the mountains of her hometown.

Belkus' performance of "Les Bises in Three" speaks of a Parisian lover whose actions spawn fires of jealousy and uncertainty and fill in the blanks to Gold's subtle innuendos. Her suggestive reading of this poem seduces the audience into a deeper appreciation of the "French kiss."

"Jetlag" stands out as a metaphysical masterpiece by Belkus. The spherical imagery she uses to symbolize the monotony of daily life and her lack of control over the world assumes the roles of a caution mirror, a fountain and a garbage can. One can almost derive three distinct phases of life with these symbols yet cannot anticipate the cynical ending verse, "I'll offer my other eye."

Life through the eyes of these two modern poets is filtered stark and gritty like a French-pressed caf?? au lait with the femininity of maternal milk to take off the edge and the sticky-sweet, sugary images of young love.

You can hear Jennifer Belkus and Tanya Gold perform this collaborative project at the Portsmouth Public Library on Thursday, March 10 from 7 to 9 p.m., followed by an open discussion forum. For event information, contact the Portsmouth Public Library, 603-427-1540; for information on the project, write This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it